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As overall cancer rates decline in the U.S., thyroid cancer counters the trend

As overall cancer rates are declining in the United States, thyroid cancer counters the trend. It's being diagnosed more frequently, especially in women. Women are three times more likely than men to develop thyroid cancer.

9 Apr 2010

World Bank commitments during economic crisis reach all-time high

The World Bank on Wednesday announced it "has committed a record $100 billion in financial support over the past 18 months to help developing countries recover from the global economic crisis," Reuters reports.

9 Apr 2010

Combination telaprevir treatment beneficial for retreatment of hepatitis C

A study co-authored by a Saint Louis University researcher found telaprevir, a protease inhibitor, combined with standard hepatitis C treatment, cures a significantly higher number of difficult-to-treat patients than standard treatment alone. The findings were published in the April issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

9 Apr 2010

Opinions: Preparing for next flu outbreak; Elections in Zimbabwe; U.S. response to Haiti

Now that concerns about swine flu have eased, "[o]ur fear is that the public and officials will get blase about the next flu outbreak," according to a New York Times editorial. "Efforts to rush vaccine into production did not go well. This dry run should lead health officials to push the vaccine makers even harder to adopt new technologies that can turn out vaccine more quickly.

9 Apr 2010

Pfizer to expand clinical trials in Asia, work on development of antibiotics for drug-resistant TB

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer said on Wednesday that it plans to increase the number of clinical trials it's conducting in Singapore by 10 percent as part of an effort "to design drugs for diseases prevalent in the region," Reuters reports.

9 Apr 2010

Encouraging results from CCT's Phase I study of PDA-001 for treatment-resistant Crohn's Disease

Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Celgene Corporation, today announced initial results from a Phase I multicenter safety study of PDA-001 in treatment-resistant Crohn's Disease. PDA-001 is an immunomodulatory therapy consisting of human placenta-derived cells obtained from CCT's proprietary processes.

9 Apr 2010

Wave of tax changes comes with health law

The new health law will make a variety of changes to the tax code, including higher levies on the wealthy and millions of dollars in lost deductions for some corporations.

9 Apr 2010

State Roundup: Mass. insurer standoff eases, Wis. preps for federal overhaul

The Boston Globe: "Seeking to tone down their dispute with state regulators, two Massachusetts health insurers yesterday said they will, as ordered, resume making new policies available for individuals and small businesses — using last year's base rates, not the requested double-digit increases rejected by the state last week" (Weisman, 4/8).

9 Apr 2010

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals commences Phase 3 registration clinical trial for perifosine

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of a Phase 3 registration clinical trial for KRX-0401 (perifosine), the Company's novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits Akt activation in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, for the treatment of patients with refractory advanced colorectal cancer.

9 Apr 2010

Savings from computerized medical records are hard to measure

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver writes: "When it comes to health policy, few ideas find as much bipartisan support as the notion that widespread adoption of health information technology could improve medical care and save money.

9 Apr 2010

University of Southampton, Synairgen Research scientists commence Phase II trial of interferon beta for asthma

Scientists from the University of Southampton and Synairgen Research Ltd, a respiratory drug development company spun out from the University, have begun a Phase II study into the effectiveness of the drug interferon beta for asthma patients.

9 Apr 2010

Those who understand insurance coverage more cost-conscious, study says

The Associated Press/The Boston Herald: "Workers who better understand their health insurance plans — from their share of premiums to co-payments for doctor office and emergency room visits — are more likely to make more cost-efficient decisions, a new study finds. The study, which surveyed about 1,500 government workers in Massachusetts," was published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

9 Apr 2010

Fate Therapeutics to acquire Ottawa biotechnology company Verio Therapeutics

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. announced today a definitive agreement to acquire Verio Therapeutics Inc., a privately held biotechnology company based in Ottawa, Ontario, which is developing drug candidates targeting the activation of endogenous stem cells. Verio Therapeutics is advancing the work of several of Canada's leading stem cell scientists, including Michael Rudnicki, Ph.D., FRSC, and Lynn Arthur Megeney, Ph.D., who have made breakthrough discoveries relating to muscle and pancreatic regeneration.

9 Apr 2010

PSA test distress, study urges caution

A new study wants men to be informed about risks associated with screening for prostate cancer. The research has brought out that the prostate cancer tests can cause significant psychological distress to the men undergoing the screening. 330 men were studied by the University of Bristol as they underwent the tests and after they finished.

9 Apr 2010

Roughly 100,000 people are dropped from Tennessee's Medicaid program

Kaiser Health News: "About 100,000 people -- mostly elderly or disabled residents -- have been dropped [from Tennessee's Medicaid program] since January 2009, including approximately 37,000 who had relied on the state program for all their health care needs. Coverage for 8,000 children was also reassessed, but a TennCare spokeswoman said the number of children ultimately cut from the program could not be verified.

9 Apr 2010

ReVision Optics initiates US clinical trial of PresbyLens corneal inlay

ReVision Optics, a leading company in the research, development and manufacture of custom optical products to correct and maintain vision, announced today that it has begun its US clinical trial of the PresbyLens® corneal inlay. The clinical trial will evaluate the PresbyLens® corneal inlay for the correction of presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision. The study began on April 6th with the treatment of three subjects by clinical investigator Dr. Stephen Slade of the Slade & Baker Vision Center in Houston, Texas.

9 Apr 2010

New CMS web site shines light on Medicare spending

A new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site is making more claims data available to the public, Modern Healthcare reports. The so-called "CMS Dashboard" reveals Medicare spending for the top 25 conditions in hospitals, and allows users to compare spending by state, conditions by spending and to review the top-10-spending states for each condition. Medicare Advantage patients are not included in the data set (Evans, 4/7).

9 Apr 2010

More states join lawsuits against federal health reforms

Business Week: Eighteen states are now challenging the new health law. "Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Nevada and Arizona will be added to the suit filed March 23 by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, he said today in a statement."

9 Apr 2010

Connectyx Technologies Holdings Group, Consult A Doctor sign joint venture

Connectyx Technologies Holdings Group Inc. is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a joint marketing agreement with Consult A Doctor to provide MedFlash® Personal Health Manager (PHM) to the more than 36 million Americans who are currently being treated via Telemedicine.

9 Apr 2010